User reviews

Have watched both Eddie & the Cruisers movies and I really enjoyed them. The storyline might be a bit thin, but the sincerity of the 2nd film really shows through. The best part of both films though is the music, I have both soundtrack CD's and the extra CD released a few years later and I play them regularly. It's a pity John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band never got to Perth, I would certainly have gone to see them on the strength of the music from these films. If you haven't seen either of these films, don't take any notice of the bad reviews you hear or read, take the time to watch them both, you will come away feeling good (and loving the music).

I started watching this on TV (1) without intending to see it all, and (2) without realizing that there had been an Eddie & The Cruisers Part I. Don't plan to go back and watch Part I, but I stayed to see all of Part II. If you like the music of the 80's, you might do the same.

The premise is that Eddie has been hiding out in Canada for twenty five years, cleverly disguised to look like Robert Goulet, while everybody back in the lower 48 who loved his music thinks he's dead. He has a good day job in construction, where he seems to be a foreman, but even after so many years, music still calls to him. Around the same time, his old record company is reviving his 1960's music, so you can see very early on where this is going.

The film gives Eddie a love interest in the person of an artist who approaches him on the street, asking if she could paint his portrait because his face is so intriguing -- that of a guy forever looking for something he can't have, she says. She's not a big success as an artist, although she certainly has an expensive wardrobe, hairdo, and apartment. But she's there for Eddie when he needs her. For his part, Eddie likes her well enough to get jealous when she dances with another guy, so you can see where this is headed too.

Mysteriously, he starts out with just a lead guitarist, but the rest of a band comes together when he calls, even though they don't recognize Eddie under the Goulet hair and mustache, nor do they recognize the old Eddie voice or music riffs. And equally mysteriously, they just accept his moods and dictatorial manner. So they practice and practice, and eventually (you knew this was coming, right?) they take on some live gigs.

Eddie's problem, as the girl recognized on the street, is that he doesn't just love music -- he's searching for musical perfection. Since this all must take place in a parallel universe, he doesn't realize that there isn't much perfection in rock & roll (how could you ever know if you screw it up or not?), but he keeps on trying for it, getting angry and moody when it eludes him. This brings us to the ultimate mystery here -- why do artist girl and the boys in the band put up with him?

Like some Hollywood musicals of the 30's and 40's, without a great plot or really believable characters a film like this lives or dies on the music it offers, and fortunately, the music in this one is pretty good. It channels Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band very effectively. Even though this was made in the 80's, there is no disco, no rap, and none of what passes for music today. It's pretty much straight Springsteen, with occasional flashes back to the simpler Rock of the early 60's. I found it both comforting and enjoyable. Hope you do too.

I first watched this movie on cable in the early 1990's. I was watering a neighbors indoor plants while she was on vacation. I walked into her living room, turned on the TV and started watering the plants. While I was going from plant to plant, I heard the sound of a voice and saxophone that just floored me, and drew me back into the living room.

The movie/story is OK. It's kind of fun to watch, but has a lot to be desired. The characters are not very well rounded and the story is not very well written. Michael Pare is great in this.

But what makes this movie is the music. The music is compelling and very well done. Garden Of Eden, alone, is fantastic.

I'm hoping that by the time I get back to the NE, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band will still be playing venues, and that I will finally get to see them.

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm an Eddie and the Cruisers fan. I loved the first movie, although I thought the story was a little dry. But the ending always made me want to know what happened to Eddie Wilson in the early-'60s since we all knew he didn't necessarily end his life at the end of that bridge.

Enter "Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!" taking place roughly 25 years after the original time frame. Again, I'll admit... this is a guilty pleasure of mine. This may not be "Gone With The Wind", but it makes me smile each and every time I put on this corny movie. The supporting acting is so-so. The story is fairly by-the-numbers. As a sequel, it ties up most of the loose ends from the original. The lead actor and his love interest let's say aren't necessarily of the Academy Award caliber although they try. But the plot isn't necessarily why we watch this movie and the director knew this. The music and what ultimately happened to Eddie is all this story aspires to. And the music is in one word... W-O-W!!!

It's sad to note John Cafferty - the REAL voice of Eddie Wilson - has since passed away. I once watched him open for "Journey" decades ago. His perfectly soulful singing voice was unique and hits my heart just right. Having Michael Pare lip-syncing to those amazing tunes always puts a smile on my face, no matter the day.

Now if you're expecting some blockbuster movie, this isn't the one for you. This is a movie by what looks to be a group of people who simply wanted to give a proper send-off to a movie mystery that the audience wanted to see. It isn't grand. It isn't intellectual. It may not even be all that good. But it's fitting - and the music is special.

I'm thankful to watch this every few years. Some of the music is on my iPod and I listen to it often. As a movie, this is at most a 5 simply because it ties up the loose ends of the original and watching a movie hero create a band is creative and enjoyable. But the music... a solid 10 as far as I'm concerned. :-) RIP John Cafferty. You are missed.

A Montreal construction worker joins a band and turns out to be a long-lost rock star from 1960s New Jersey - none other than Eddie Wilson (Michael Pare), who mysteriously disappeared after a road accident.

This film picks up where the first left off, almost immediately, though we get very few of the same actors. The most important (Michael Pare) is here, and hides himself very effectively under that mustache. Seriously, that is all it takes to completely hide Wilson's identity and make him a Canadian in the 1980s.

Apparently some folks at the time gave this a "worst film" nomination (though not the folks at the Razzies). That is just blasphemy. In some ways, this is just as good as the first film and really reinvents the character of Eddie Wilson for a new generation. He blends in seamlessly with a group of musicians who might rather be playing Mozart or Iron Maiden.

Unfortunately, like the first film, we get a bare boned edition on the Shout Factory blu-ray. No Michael Pare commentary, or anything else to speak of. Fans of the cult classic will be happy to get the film on BD (presumably with improved picture and sound), but will not find much else to feed their hunger.

I've seen both "EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS" and "EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS II, EDDIE LIVES" and I rather enjoyed them both. They weren't like ordinary movies that have a beginning, a middle and an end. It was like just being there. You enjoy the characters and the music, at least I did. I think that when an actor takes a role its because he's not expecting the role to help him with his career, but that he can help the role and Michael Pare did exactly that. The moment I can I will be purchasing the movies because they give me an escape of my everyday life. When I watch a movie I don't want to think about what is the character going to do now, or will he get the girl. I just want to watch a movie and not think about the climax of the movie. These movies do just that, I can have a glass of wine or a can of Pepsi and just relax and enjoy.

I think my title sums up everything that's awesome and everything that's horrible with this movie. Yes in one memorably-wtf scene Eddie Wilson, the dirty Jersey rock n roller who in the 1st movie was a mix of James Dean, Sid Vicious and Batman, in this movie straps on a pair of rollerskates and gets lateral. If you're an obsessed fan of the 1st movie, then just the thought is enough to make you change your name to Toby Tyler and run off to join Cirque du Soleil.

But if you're ok with the image of Eddie on rollerskates (pause to stare blankly in space for 2 mins), and if you're ok with the thought of a home grown Jersey rocker turning Canadian and using synthesizers on his music, and if you're ok with the idea that Wordman was conspicuously edited out of history (replacing him with a bizarre cross cut of Sal instead, on the sacred "words & music" speech from the original film), then "Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!" can be a fun flick. Consider it as sorta the Robocop 2 of cult movies.

Enough slamming. I actually loved this flick in a nostalgic I-love-the-80s way. It has every 80s cliché in the book. Lots of random freakout arguments that are resolved 20 seconds later. Lots of music montages with incongruous editing, like random crying clips to snowball fights to sax players playing on a mountaintop. Lots of big hair. But seriously folks, there are at least 2 or 3 scenes that are worth the price of admission, full of poetry and artistic wisdom, such as the scene where Eddie shows the young shredder guitarist how to play a real solo, or another short but profound talk about how each musician's playing style is like a fingerprint that he can't escape from (awesome metaphor for a person's identity). Those scenes are the real takeaway of this film, not the plot.

The plot itself goes something like this: We learn in the opening scene that Eddie has been hiding out in Montreal piddling around with some song ideas but too pissed off at the world to make a serious attempt at music. By chance he crosses paths with a young hotshot guitarist who irritates Eddie enough that Eddie decides to teach the kid a thing or two. Will this lead to a comeback? Or will Eddie--self destructive as always--torpedo the whole effort and sink the band even as their big break is looming? Meanwhile another(!) set of lost studio tapes surfaces, and it turns into an international mystery as to when they were recorded and who played on the tapes (and the answer comes to us with a surprise cameo from none other than...).

It's actually a pretty great setup, and it flirts with some really deep themes. Unfortunately the director Jean-Claude Lord, who's better known for directing Canadian soap operas, didn't seem to give this effort the royal treatment it required to stack up to the original. I wonder if the director even bothered watching the 1st. As such, you can expect a lot of unnecessary filler scenes such as music montages. If you can ignore this fluff, or perhaps even see it as part of the film's nostalgic 80s wtf charm, then you'll have a blast.

If not... well you may find yourself driving your chevy toward the Raritan bridge at unsafe speeds.

Ultimately, this flick is a guilty pleasure of mine. I rate it "NOT BAD". To borrow a great line from this film: "Not bad means not bad. If I was in a bar and I watched this, it'd be nice being in there. Then I'd go home and I'd forget all about it. That's what not bad means."

Just kidding. Love it or hate it, you will not forget this movie.

You can't possibly have made a worse sequel than this. It relates nothing to the original except for Michael Pare being in it. They totally wrote off Frank, Joann, Kenny, heck even Doc. Like this was going to work without all them in there. Plus the music which was great in the original soundtrack is at best average here. You want a good sequel to the first cruisers soundtrack, get John Cafferty's Tough all over album. Now thats really good. For the people who like this lousy movie, you obviously never saw the original. Which is by far superior in every way to this garbage. This is movie is a total disappointment. But when you get none of the original cast, writers or director, this is what you get. Eddie doesn't live in this bomb. He really drives his car into the drink.

Having recently aquired a copy and getting to see it again, my original opinion still stands...Eddie and the Cruisers 2 is a great sequel! It has drama, a little mystery, alot of great music and wonderful acting from Michael Pare! He does a great job lip singing to John Cafferty. If you didn't read the credits you would actually think Michael Pare was singing! The only thing I didn't like about this movie was in a flashback, it showed Eddie talking to Sal instead of Frankie. But it was still a great movie. I loved the way Joe/Eddie wrestled with his emotions in choosing what to do about his music and life. Very moving! So, if you want to see a relaxing, feel-good movie, this is the one to watch. Even better if you can watch both the original and Eddie Lives in the same weekend!

Michael Pare does a decent job, but his character, Eddie, is very one dimensional. IMHO, it has been the supporting cast who carry the movies. The music rocks and the concert sequences in both films are a lot of fun. But, let's be honest. Eddie's character is self important along the lines of Jim Morrison, and his "teachings" about great music, while somewhat true, could be found in any fortune cookie. The greatness of the film lay, at least for me, in the energy of the concert sequences. Everything else is mediocre filler, in both films.

This film was the result of nearly six years of politicking after the release of the original Eddie and the Cruisers. A follow-up had been promised, but several cast principals and others weren't interested in filming a sequel. As a result, the character of Frank Ridgeway, played by Tom Berenger, was written out of the second script so completely that even the flashback scenes showing significant portions of the first film showed not Frank, but Sal Amato (Matthew Laurance), whose character was quite different from Frank's; in fact, he was generally so jealous of Frank's recently-acquired songwriting partnership with his old friend, Eddie, that he would have preferred Frank had never come along. For fans of the original film, seeing him in Frank's role as well as his own was simply not believable.

I started out watching Eddie before I could walk and It is to this day one of my absolute favorite movies. This movie brings back great memories for me and now that my daughter loves this movie as much as I did I hope it will mean as much to her. This is definitely a classic in the making if you ask me. Some of the greatest things didn't get the proper recognition until many years sometimes hundred of years after the fact.A line from the original "the world needs dreamers" and I couldn't agree more. This movie allows that to happen. Who in their life hasn't hoped and dreamed for something and been knocked down? I think this movie gives people that connection to real life but also hope in seeing "Eddie" actually come back from the lowest point in his life. I would recommend this movie to everyone, male, female, young, old and anywhere in between.

I am not a sequel watcher as a rule. There have been so few of them that haven't disappointed me. But here I am on a cold and rainy Monday night with not much else on, and having just re-enjoyed Eddie and the Cruisers a few weeks back, I finally took a stab at it. In the first twenty minutes I thought the script was weak and Michael Pare was overacting. But as the film moved on, the story deepened, giving the actors more to work with. I loved that the film was made in Canada with many new actors, maintaining the freshness and originality from the first film. And the music is fabulous. The extra bonus for this New Jersey transplanted Jersey Girl were more great Jersey Shore scenes. Some have said the music and maybe even the story are inspired by Springsteen, and that could be, but he didn't have a movie to wrap around him, and John Cafferty's music is soul-satisfying. Long live Eddie.

This goof didn't show up in the "official" goofs listings. When the band comes off the stage of their 1st performance.........Rick calls out to "Joe", but calls him 'Eddie'. I played it back twice to be sure, and yes, that's he said. At this point, there is not any indication that Rick knows Joe's true identity. Apparently, the people at IMDb did not catch this goof. Obviously, neither did the producer, or film editors. Interesting.....did anybody else catch this goof? As far as sequels go, I liked it. I'd rate it slightly above average. I would like to know where Frank, Doc, Joann were.........since they were present in the 1st movie when the tapes were discovered. And the name of the new band.....Rock Solid?.........pretty lame. Still, at least there was a follow-up to the 1st movie, so we can see what happened to Eddie.

EDDIE LOVES!

This movie should be required watching for anyone in the motion picture business on how NOT to make a sequel. The first movie was fine... decent acting, a lot of popular names, a suspenseful script, and good music.

The second one ruined it all. I can't even stand to watch the first one anymore; the mystery is spoiled. The sequel's script could have been written by a fifteen-year-old. The romantic interest is cheap filler. The acting was just painful to watch. The cinematography was laughable. I was embarrassed for the blues legends who had cameos.

I wonder if the sequel was written by someone who never even saw the original??

What a fun movie to watch in these times when everything else is total chaos. My husband and I watched both of them in two weeks after the person who recommended mailed me #2. My other brother sent me the sound track for both of these movies! I have played it every day sense then. I would love Eddie and the Cruisers 3. It so reminds us of the innocent times when we went to hear bands whose music we could sing to. When dancing at a local hangout, and the bands where you cheered on to be successful. That actually played the music versus having the sounds made by machines! This is one set of movies I will watch again and again. I don't care whose music it sounded like, it reminds us all of more fun times. I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!1

There is only one time in history when wearing a leotard under a sport jacket with a mullet could be mistaken as cool. The 80s! My first love. This movie sucks in a really awesome way and truly begs to be made into a drinking game.

How many times did macho-rebel-rock God Eddie Wilson cry in this movie? Every scene? Awesome. Every time Eddie cries, drink.

Every time he runs away. Every time he disapproves of something/someone does because not in a million years could they EVER dream of being as cool him, or Bruce Springsteen. Every time someone follows Eddie, drink. Every time he's being a musical genius. Every time he has a flashback. Every time suspension of disbelief is annihilated by impossible coincidence (think man tackling reunion on the beach and "I just happened to be walking past your construction sight.) Every time someone tries to talk sense to Eddie. Every time you see a haircut that blows your mind (be it 80s "big hair" on women, or blow dried "hair helmets" on guys, mullets, frizz mops, banger hair...) Eddie 2 is a BAD HAIR GOLDMINE, RATED R.

Clearly, this awful movie is the best movie ever made.

See it every day.

Oh man! Why Lord why? Couldn't the actors scrape enough money to prevent the producers from releasing this. I mean, if they could have raised a couple hundred dollars they could have bought the rights and burned it. Let's face it, a couple hundred dollars is more than they made releasing this thing. The plot? Eddie is back with a moustache that makes Oscar Wilde look straight. He has a lame assortment of guys in his band that play Springsteen-like songs without the musicianship, lyrics, and hooks. There are....you know what...just avoid it, it really sucked. On the other hand, if you want a laugh..come to think of it...it is too boring too have any camp value.

Along with 'Eddie and the Cruisers' and 'Streets of Fire', Michael Paré performs in three of the greatest Rock 'n' Roll movies of all time! Eddie's comments and examples of how to play with feeling and how to 'swing' are some of the best ever. Anyone who aspires to play serious electric music should see these films, along with everyone who loves Rock and Roll and/or grew up in the '50s and '60s. Since it is a sequel film, Eddie II is sometimes passed over by afficionados, but don't let that fool you.

Have a weekend with Michael Paré and rent all three--you'll love 'em!

While EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS II: EDDIE LIVES feels like a corny, straight-to-video followup to the low-budget but highly regarded cult film EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS... about a Jim Morrison-like possibly-dead rocker and the band he left behind... there's far more about the music here, played by Michael Pare's titular Eddie Wilson than what's in the CITIZEN KANE-inspired original's double-story that consists more of a present time keyboardist/lyricist Tom Berenger (literally replaced by another character in a flashback sequence) not fitting the band than the actual band leader or his music that Berenger injected "deep" lyrics into...

And, once again, Pare lip-syncs rocker John Cafferty's voice to perfection... he looks like Cafferty sounds... but each tune, unlike the Bruce Springsteen-inspired On The Dark Side that became an actual hit... are merely filler material...

So as Eddie collects and rehearses his new club band including a too-flashy lead guitarist (who, like Matthew Laurence's bassist Sal, thinks the music should be more lightweight), a wise sax player (this band is mostly sax), a muscular drummer and, inspired by Berenger, a geeky classically-trained pianist, the music doesn't add up to the possibility of Eddie getting a legit comeback beyond the news that would be garnered if he resurrected beyond his secret life as everyday construction worker... Also, during rehearsals, while Eddie insults his band into "getting it right", the glossy, recording-session-sounding music sounds exactly the same from beginning to end, so it's like trying to perfect music from a car commercial...

Also, gone is the mystique of the original's young perfect-looking Pare, seen through archive footage (without Tom Berenger in ANY shot)... and as he's supposed to have aged 20 years to fit the plot-line, the man himself looks like his own father, so the sex symbol playing rock star novelty that ignited the original is dead and gone...

However what's here is a lightweight video-rental, and EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS II: EDDIE'S BACK not only doesn't mind, but for the most part, revels in being just that.

Horrible, horrible, and most horrible!!

This film was so bad that I couldn't believe they produced it. This sequel was far worse than the first film. At least that had somewhat of a plot but this one was merely made to sell a soundtrack which I believe was junk as well.

The whole story is like watching a bad concert. You're forced to watch idiotic flashbacks and then watch Michael Pare lipsync words to songs that were just awful. That's it. That's really the whole story.

The script was so bad that Tom Berringer refused to reprise his role. You find yourself not only not caring for the characters but by the end of the film you loathe not only the characters but the actors as well for their audacity in making this film and torturing you.

I have to agree with another reviewer that suggested the writers of this film should be, "...encouraged to take up finger painting or making paper chains." I agree. They should be arrested for this crime.

If you happen to see any copies of this video at the video store, do your friends and neighbors a favor and ask the clerk to burn every single copy. It really is that bad.